Site Search Navigation

Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Day 4: Battle of the Bulls

By Jack Bell March 3, 2008 12:18 pmMarch 3, 2008 12:18 pm

SALZBURG, Austria — So much for corporate harmony.

The game between the visiting New York Red Bulls and the Red Bull Salzburg reserve team, postponed on Saturday because of stormy weather, was played Monday afternoon at the Salzburg team’s training center — Taxham. It was 90 minutes of contentious soccer, won by the Salzburg reserves, 1-0, on a second half goal, but more notable for chippy fouls and ill-tempered play.

“I really think their intention was to hurt our guys from the get-go,” RBNY goalkeeper Jon Conway said after the game.

No. 9 Richard Kitzbichler and the Red Bull Salzburg reserves, in blue, gave their American cousins an often rough scrimmage at the team’s training facility in Austria. (Courtesy of New York Red Bull)

On that score, Salzburg succeeded. The NYRB second-year midfielder Dane Richards was hacked down early in the first half and was forced to leave the game, replaced by the rookie Luke Sassano. He was fitted with a knee brace and hobbled to the team bus with what team officials described as a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee.

“They just wanted to get someone and they did,” said Conway, who played the first 45 minutes as Coach Juan Carlos Osorio changed 10 players for the second half. “We’re the guys from the States and I think they thought they had something to prove. That’s O.K.”

The NYRB captain Claudio Reyna, who began his professional career in 1994 with Bayer Leverkusen in Germany, said he was familiar with the approach of the Salzburg team, but was still outraged by the early fury on the field.

“They’re diving cheats,” Reyna said, not mincing words. “The referee lost control, and I told him in German that he had to do a better job. For us, it was really just an exercise and the object was not to get injured. We were just trying to get a game and they were playing like it’s the World Cup. It wasn’t a friendly. They stepped over the line from the beginning. And for that reason there was no rhythm to the game, especially in the first half. It was unfortunate.”

New York had not played a competitive game in nearly two weeks, last taking the field in Los Angeles against a visiting Danish team. Since arriving in Salzburg, where its corporate overlords have their headquarters, Osorio has put the team through intensive, two-a-day training sessions as he evaluates his players and prepares for the start of the Major League Soccer season early next month.

“It’s aggravating that the referee allowed Dane to be injured the way he was,” Osorio said. “I think it’s a bad injury. I think we played some good stuff in the first half, but didn’t have that many chances. And their chances were from long distance.”

The best stuff for RBNY came out of the midfield in the first half, where Seth Stammler pressed forward and had the club’s best chance on a left-footed shot that slipped wide of the goal at the end of a combination of passes that was between 8 and 10. Dave van den Bergh, playing as a holding, defensive midfielder, sprayed passes over the field and looked comfortable.

In the second half, the trialist Lider Marmol, who is the subject of a contentious tug-of-war between the Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire, showed poise on the ball and excellent vision. Sassano, the rookie from UC-Berkeley, appears to have a roster spot sewn up. And Mike Magee, attempting to come back from a knee injury, showed some deft touches on the ball, although few led to any real scoring opportunities.

Again and again americans do not understand this is a mans game. Just like they complained in the friendly vs Mexico, just as they complain when they play elsewhere in Concacaf. Come on, if you wnat to win something in this game you have to take a more aggressive aproach, just look at Argentina, they always cheat and kick, of course adding technique and where are they? Of course different from Uruguay who just cheat and kick…

This is when I wish soccer was more like hockey. If I’m Parke or Stammler or especially a new guy trying to make the team, I go over to the thug who just blatantly cheap-shotted my small, skillful teammate in a meaningless scrimmage, resulting in an injury, and do my best to relieve him of his two front teeth. Sure, you get a red card, incite a brawl and the game could be abandoned (and if not, bet everyone’s on their best behavior from then on) but who cares? Seems it was a total waste of time anyway. Plus, collectively making sure that goon got what he deserved would be an exponentially better team-building excercise than anything JCO could dream up.

As a teammate, I don’t get how you could just do nothing at all. I guess I’m a hockey player at heart. Man’s game? Soccer players kill me…

If it was actually mean-spirited play over rough play, as I am inclined to believe if Osorio removes all his starters after 45 minutes, It seems really childish and stupid on RB Salzburg part.

It’s a practice match against a team that could just as easily hurt you back. I could also be case of the reserves refusing to be punching bags for the visiting Americans. Regardless the loss of Richards is pretty damaging to the Redbulls as he was the sole source of speed on their wings, and their 3-5-2 formation might be in trouble if their only source of speed is Jozy.

You’ve gotta be kidding me with that comment. What does this have to do, at all, with the fact that it’s an American based team? Furthermore, this has nothing to do with Americans’ “understanding” of the game. You obviously have never even bothered to research MLS, let alone watch a game, because if you did, you’d know that it is widely regarded as a highly athletic and physical league. Most South Americans who come to the league have a hard time adjusting to the physical play.

This was a meaningless pre-season game for the New York side. As Claudio Reyna, a player with YEARS of European Football experience said, they were “just trying to get a game” as do most teams in pre-season. Foul play and injuries are not supposed to happen in games like this, anywhere in the world. It’s not right.

Throw into the mix that all parties involved are owned by the same company, and that proves what a true mess this is. How could the Red Bull Salzburg reserves be so classless?

Perhaps this is just a case of Salzburg’s reserve squad trying a bit to hard to make it to the first team. Either that or maybe a team whose season is still ongoing got a bit angry at amateurish play from an out of season American squad.

the VALUABLE lesson is that you CANNOT “doctatte” to opponents how they are to deport themselves, or, how “gently” to play. BUT, you sure as hell can make them
“feel”, and “remember”, for a LONG time by GIVING them more than they served up.

You said it MSS Rao. Lets go watch a bunch of men who make a minimum of a million a year standing around for 8 hours waiting for a ball the size of a grapefruit to fall in their gloves. Or we can wait till Euro 2008 and watch real Athletic men, run 15K a game fighting for national pride in front of thousands in the stadium and millions on TV.

Doesn’t Reyna sound a bit arrogant when he says “their playing like its the World Cup?” I understand entirely that a friendly will not create nearly the intensity that the World Cup does, but shouldn’t he still be giving it his all every time he steps on the pitch, and expect the same from everyone else?

And, by the way MSS Rao, you put in an extra question mark. It should be ‘Who Cares?’ instead of ‘who? Cares?’ I guess you shouldn’t be capable of much more, considering your comment.

It’s good to see that the Red Bulls are associating with Europe as are more MLS teams. This should help improve their skill and abilities. It’s unfortunate that a player got injured, but if players are talented and wise, they can often thwart off clumsy attacks from reservists. Unfortunately, this was not something the victim was able to do. The best thing for the MLS and Red Bulls would be for Zidane to enter. I heard he had an interest in playing for the MLS and if in any city, he said NYC. That would be great!

That is crazy that both teams have the same sponsor and they’re killing each other out there. Maybe Salzburg should pay Richards salary. Red Bulls are going all the way this year. Though it’s too bad they had to build the stadium in Jersey. I was hoping for Westchester.

And that’s the main reason why the US clubs should be playing the libertadores. When a team goes to a place like Argentina, Chile, or, especially, Uruguay, they can expect a lot of pressure from the crowd, a bit of bad refreeing and lots of rough play. That awful environment makes a player mature faster, which is fundamental even for the national team.
Also, for the fans, if you see your team get intimidated away from home, you might feel more tempted to go to the stadium on the alternate fixture to give some of it back to the opponents, which leads to a better atmosphere and a bigger bond between club and supporters.

Along with Zidane, the MLS will bring in Shevchenko, Figo, Lehman, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Platini, Beckenbauer, Weah, and then Pele. This will be great. Unfortunately, they will all be injured in reserve games, because they were too busy trying to play the ball while the young kids wer trying to chop their legs out.

Just for the sake of fairness, this is what Austrian newspaper Kronenzeitung says:
BOTH teams took the game pretty serious and the Americans were kind of surprised, that it wasn’t as easy as expected againts the RBSB Juniors. But especially the New Yorker played very hard during the second half, culminating in Wolyniack’s send-off for a brutal foul.
And Mr Reyna said: “It is always the same with the Germans and Austrians: Unfairness nonstop. It is a disgrace.”
Looks like he has still problems with 2002. But why the Austrians? Did he ever played an Austrian side before?

How can a wee cheatin diving hun like Reyna complain ? when he was in the SPL thats all he done
and of course clubbing people in to the bargain !!
there are no such thing as “friendlies ” every game is important to individual players showing the coach what he can and cannot do ! cant believe that wee muppet complained to the ref !

What's Next

About

Goal, The New York Times soccer blog, will report on news and features from the world of soccer and around the Web. Times editors and reporters will follow international tournaments and provide analysis of games. There will be interviews with players, coaches and notable soccer fans, as well as a weekly blog column by Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore. Readers can discuss Major League Soccer, foreign leagues and other issues with fellow soccer fans.